LETTERS: Milk collection centres model needs revisiting

Editor, RE: “Eastern Province governor seeks to phase out milk vending” (The New Times, November 3). This is a well intended regulation, but I would suggest the analysis and The New Times reporting should go a step further and find out why milk producers opt to sell through alternative channels. Maybe it’s an issue of access to the collection centres, or better/more competitive prices in the “informal” market — which contribute more to the producers’ livelihoods. Let’s not look at the problem with one eye (consumption of sub-standard milk); let’s find a solution to the farmers’ issues. After all, the cows are for the farmers. Arthur *** A lot has been done and a lot more remains to be done. For the sector to be revived or to be raised to the level that will benefit all stakeholders, there is a need to look into more issues other than milk collecting centres. Management of cooperatives, from primary ones to the top, needs to be re-looked into. Not only management issues, but also pricing of the product. The contract that was signed with Inyange was done a long time ago and since then a lot has changed on the market but nothing seems to be done in that respect. The price a farmer is paid and the price on the market are not comparable. Normal situation of the cost of raw material is supposed to be 1/3 of the market price of a product. However, this is not the case. People paid money (Rwf10,000 per hectare) to buy tools and equipment for these cooperatives, millions went down the drain and up to now no one has accounted for these monies. Many collecting centres were built on loan from lenders at a higher than market price. For all these years, cooperatives have never declared profits to their members, what you see around is the heads of these cooperatives benefiting at the expense of the members. Dear Governor, go to the ground and find out what is going on there, if need be bypass the mayors, executive secretaries and heads of these cooperatives. You will find a lot that needs to be done. Manzi Ntwali

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LETTERS: Milk collection centres model needs revisiting